University of Minnesota Athletics
Wieland Named First Team Academic All-American
6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS - Three University of Minnesota track & field student-athletes have been named to the 2016 Academic All-America® Division I Men's and Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Luca Wieland joins women's track & field seniors Alex Beckman and Jess Lehman on the list of award recipients.
Wieland is the third Gopher to collect Academic All-America First Team honors this year, joining Lindsay Mable from women's gymnastics and Michael Kroells from wrestling. Meanwhile, Lehman was chosen as a second team honoree, and Beckman garnered third team accolades.
Minnesota's three honorees moves the Gophers' Academic All-America season total to 11 - the most accolades in school history. Only Stanford has earned more Academic All-America honors this year with 12 while Minnesota already led the nation with a school-record 27 CoSIDA Academic All-District honors this academic year.
A native of Saarbrucken, Germany, Wieland is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American - adding First Team honors this year to go with Second Team accolades in 2015. The junior also repeated as a First Team All-American in the heptathlon this year with a fifth-place finish after winning the NCAA title in the event in 2015. Additionally, Wieland is the two-time defending Big Ten decathlon champion - just the fifth man to repeat as conference champion in the event and the second Gopher to do so. He owns the school heptathlon record at 6,070 points and ranks second in program history in the decathlon at 7,784 points. A two-time Academic All-Big honoree and a USTFCCCA All-Academic selection, Wieland is pursuing a degree in entrepreneurial management from the Carlson School of Management.
Jess Lehman wrapped up her Gophers career as the program record-holder in both the pentathlon (4,393 points) and heptathlon (6,014 points). A four-time All-American, Lehman placed seventh in the heptathlon at the 2016 NCAA Championship with 5,835 points. In 2015, Lehman placed fifth in both the pentathlon and heptathlon at the NCAA national championships. The five-time All-Big Ten honoree is a four-time Big Ten champion, including back-to-back pentathlon and heptathlon titles in 2015 and 2016. She is also a three-time team captain, a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, and a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Lehman completed her degree in elementary education and is currently pursuing a Masters of Education in special education.
Alex Beckman earned the first CoSIDA Academic All-America award this season. She wrapped up her track & field career ranked fifth in the pentathlon (3,749 points) and sixth in the heptathlon (5,088 points) among all-time Gopher multi-event competitors. She was a four-time Big Ten Conference competitor in both the pentathlon and heptathlon as well. A three-year team captain, the Apple Valley, Minn., native is a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honoree and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree along with earning Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition. Beckman completed her undergraduate degree in nursing and wrapped up her education with a certificate in integrated therapies and healing practices this year.
2015-16 University of Minnesota CoSIDA Academic All-America Selections (11)
Lindsay Mable (Women's Gymnastics, First Team)
Michael Kroells (Wrestling, First Team)
Luca Wieland (Men's Track & Field, First Team)
Jess Lehman (Women's Track & Field, Second Team)
Brandon Lingen (Football, Second Team)
Paige Tapp (Volleyball, Second Team)
Matt Fiedler (Baseball, Second Team)
Hannah Brandt (Women's Hockey, Second Team)
Lee Stecklein (Women's Hockey, Second Team)
Alex Beckman (Women's Track & Field, Third Team)
Brett Pfarr (Wrestling, Third Team)
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Players Mentioned
